


cutaneous horns

by sprucewoodblock



Series: dream smp shit ill title this series later lmao [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alexis | Quackity Angst, Alexis | Quackity-centric, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Beta Read, DadSchlatt, Dream Smp, Eret Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), F/F, F/M, Family Dynamics, Found Family, Headaches, Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, LMAO, M/M, More tags to be added!, Multi, Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, TommyInnit Misses Toby Smith | Tubbo, antfrost is a fucking snitch, but hes ass at it ;ol, charlie is mentioned lmao, found family tubbo & quackity, goat tubbo, irl shippers dni :(, jschlatt is a dad now, not very violent but kinda, oh no thats domestic violence, punz mentioned, schlatt is a dad now, schlatt is a fucking alcoholic, word count no longer fucked up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:08:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprucewoodblock/pseuds/sprucewoodblock
Summary: Tubbo woke up that morning with a thumping pain in his head, but wasn't exactly expecting to grow horns within a week.So now what? Schlatt is well- Schlatt. Tommy is too busy with Pogtopia- Tubbo wouldn't wanna bother him, and oh god he doesn't even want to think about Wilbur's reaction.He can only trust Big Q, of all people.In other words- he's alone.----------------------------------------------------------------------AU(s): Ram!Tubbo AUEdited by @Tenors_only_gang
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Alexis | Quackity & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Alexis | Quackity/Jschlatt, Eret & Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Grayson | Purpled & Luke | Punz, Grayson | Purpled & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Luke | Punz & Sapnap, Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Ponk | DropsByPonk & Sam | Awesamdude, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Luke | Punz, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: dream smp shit ill title this series later lmao [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021522
Comments: 271
Kudos: 1271





	1. Headaches and Bees (1)

It was the loud crashing and yelling coming from the downstairs lobby that tore Tubbo from his sleep. He leapt out of bed, mentally preparing for an attack, only to realize with immense relief it was just Schlatt and Quackity again. Loud Spanish music blasted from the stereo and terribly-sung karaoke from a drunk sounding vice president rang through the house, peppered with occasional screaming from President Schlatt himself: drunk, or high, or most possibly both. He sighed, relaxing as he realized there was no danger, only to be met with an odd thrum of pain at the side of his head, disturbing him from going back to sleep. 

The pain prevailed through the night, leaving the boy unable to rest. This, of course, didn’t slip by the other two, who continually shot glances at the sluggish boy from across the breakfast table. He’d barely touched his food, uncharacteristic of him, and seemed more disinterested than usual as Quackity laid out the day’s plans.

“––Alright, so after that we’re looking through the paperwork for renovating the downtown fountains. Then at 14:30, Schlatt, you have a meeting with Fundy–– and at 1700 we have our own meeting to plan the festiva–– Hey! Tubbo!” Quackity’s voice pitched in annoyance as Tubbo didn’t react, unaware of the world around him. “ T–– o–– Tub–– o! Tubbo!” He began aggressively snapping his fingers in front of the boy’s face, the slightest bit of relief in his tone when Tubbo finally met his eyes. 

“Huh?” 

“C’mon man, the hell’s up with you?” The vice president looked concerned, scanning Tubbo’s eyes for a sign of what could be wrong, before he turned to the president again to continue speaking. Tubbo stared down into the cup of coffee in front of him, dreading the day ahead. Especially with Schlatt clearly hungover from the previous night, business would likely run slowly. At least it would make meeting Wilbur easier. 

After the briefing, the team went off in their separate ways, with Tubbo heading down to Fundy’s base to remind him of today’s meeting. 

Fundy was––well––interesting, if nothing else. The self-emancipated son of Wilbur, he seemed so loyal to Schlatt that Tubbo felt almost intimidated to stand beside him. With a sigh, he knocked on the dark wooden door, awkwardly waiting for Fundy to answer. 

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened. 

“Tubbo?” The fox-hybrid blinked down at him in confusion, and Tubbo remembered drowsily that most citizens probably woke up much later than those in the White House. 

“Oh god I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry I can come back later––” He stumbled over his own words, turning to leave, met with confusion from the man in the doorway.

“No, no it's fine! Uh–– come in.” He moved past the door, Tubbo following him into the house.

Fundy’s base could most simply be described as strange. The cave-like setting didn’t put Tubbo any more at ease, the dark and gloomy atmosphere fitting of the home’s proprietor. Swallowing down the fear, he coughed nervously. 

“VP Quackity sent me to inform you that––uh––Schlatt wants a meeting with you today at noon.” God, what the hell was wrong with his head, he nervously rubbed the side of his scalp, continuing with a strained voice. “Y-you should be there at uh–– 14:30, sharp.” He felt dizzy, swaying as Fundy set his hands on the boy’s shoulders to steady him. 

“Man, what’s up with you? You look like Punz after a night of drinking.” He muttered, giving the secretary of state a worried look. 

Tubbo shook his head quickly. “I-I’ve just had a headache, I’m fine.” 

Fundy looked at him in silence for a moment, before nervously asking, “In the sides of your head, right? Have you also been feeling itchy?”

Tubbo froze, wondering how the furry fox-hybrid could tell, before slowly nodding. The only immediate response he received from that was a sad nod from Fundy, before he was led out the base. 

“Listen, uhh... if you need anything, let me know okay?” Fundy patted him on the shoulder awkwardly, leaving Tubbo even more uneasy than when he was standing in the center of the residency. Why was he acting so strange?

When he got back, Schlatt acted no more regularly than Fundy; although admittedly, expecting normality from the president was ridiculously foolish. The man kept asking if he was alright, giving him off-glances: it all felt quantifiably odd when he’d even let him leave work early. He hadn’t even done that on his own  _ wedding day _ . If Big Q had seemed hurt by this, he’d opted not to show it, instead just lurking around the house, occasionally muttering something under his breath. Probably another migraine. 

Tubbo snuck past him and out of the White House. The soreness at his scalp was too painful to attempt sleep again, so he reckoned he might as well go look after the beehives, as he hadn’t visited in some time. Planning for the upcoming events had kept him busy, but thankfully Punz was there to take care of them in his absence. 

He arrived at the flower forest on a horse, hopping off and attaching the leash to the birch fences surrounding the hives, already spotting another figure next to one of them. 

“Punz!” He called out, waving to him happily as he approached.

The blonde grinned at him, gingerly placing down the cap of the hive he was collecting honey from, high-fiving the secretary of state. “Tubbo, long time no see!” He greeted, putting his hands into his pockets again. “You here to help?” 

“ Uh-huh!” Tubbo nodded, hopping over to one of the wooden boxes and lifting the top. Punz helped hold it in place while he scraped the wax off the top, filling it into a bucket on the ground. It smelled, pungently sweet, and the two worked unbothered as a few rogue insects attempted to sting them. Finishing with one hive, they moved on to the others until they’d completed their work. 

Content with their harvest, Punz and Tubbo sat in the field, watching Sylbee fly from flower to flower. “I miss this, you know?” Punz muttered, glancing at the younger male.    
  


“Huh?” 

“Y’know, like, taking care of this place with you. I mean, I know you’re busy, I just….I think Niki and Eret and the others feel the same way. You just–– you’re never there anymore man.” 

Tubbo looked down, guilt washing over him. Was he letting down his friends? Should he have been putting more effort into his relationships? God, he’d been so busy with Schlatt, Tommy, and Wilbur he’d forgotten that he had other people around him. 

“...I’m sorry.” He mumbled, leaning back and into the grass, staring into the darkening sky. “I wish I could be with you guys, really. I just–– can’t. Not at the moment.” 

Punz didn’t respond. 


	2. Cover Up (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vice President finds out. Decisions to be made, horns to hide. 
> 
> Quackity and Tubbo centric.

Looks like the painkillers that Punz had given him last night had helped at least somewhat. Which was to be expected, considering how often Punz seemed to take those, especially after parties with Sapnap. Tubbo barely felt a twinge when he woke up in the morning, drowsily stumbling up and into the bathroom- where he stared into the mirror. He blinked in confusion, trying to figure out who the hell was in the reflection. Whoever it was, they had hints of blood around their forehead, ears which seemed like a weird merge between ones of a goat and human- he gently put his hand to his head, jumping when he touched one of the horns.  _ OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD-  _ He stepped back, clasping his hands over his mouth to not start fucking screaming, as he hit the wall with his back.  _ What the fuck is going on, what the fuck is this-  _ he shook his head, deciding he’s probably delusional from the medication. Quickly turning on the cold water, he splashed it into his face, watching the pink-ish stained liquid trickle down the sides of the sink. Nope, they were still there. 

“ Tubbo!?” An aggressive knock on the door made him jump, almost hitting his head against the cabinet. “ TUBBO, I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM TOO, GET OUT!” Quackity. What was it with him and showing up at the worst possible times? “ BIG Q WAIT WAIT-” He yelled, staring around to find some way to hide the horns. “ I’M COUNTING TO THREE THEN I COME IN!”

“ NO! DON’T YOU DARE!”

“ ONE-”

“ WAIT WAIT WAI-”

“TWO-”

He stared around, finally grabbing a towel and just hiding his head under there, just in time for- 

“ THREE-” 

The door clicked, being pushed open. The Vice President gave him  _ the  _ most deadpanned look, staring at the kid with messy brown hair, clearly in distress, with a huge towel over his head like a Russian grandmother. “ What the fuck?” He wheezed, staring at him, about to start laughing his head off before he realized the kid looking like a kicked puppy.    


“ What's wrong?” 

Tubbo shook his head quickly, trying to push past the VP- who promptly reached out to grab him, ripping the towel off his head in the process. They both froze, staring at each other in shock, before Quackity opened his mouth to say something- Tubbo took this as a cuer to slam the door shut, shaking the Vice President aggressively- not missing the tiny wince from Big Q when he was grabbed- looking like he’d cry any second. “ QUACKITY YOU CAN’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS PLEASE- PLEASE-!” 

Quackity shook him off, taking a step back. He looked hesitant, unsure what to think of the situation. Tubbo was well- Tubbo. Innocent, kid Tubbo- he can’t be Schlatt’s kid- no- he just can’t be, he can’t- but the evidence was there, in the form of small horns and down-turned furry ears. And the other resemblances didn’t add to the situation- they both had the same brown hair, the same round eyes-  _ holy fuck.  _

“ Y-you’re his  _ son _ ?” He whispered, staring at him. Tubbo felt his heart drop at how  _ terrified  _ the man looked, pressing himself against a wall to get further away from the ram child. 

“ I-I don’t know!” 

They kept staring at each other in silence, Tubbo taking it as a chance to notice how well- bad Quackity looked. It wasn’t much of a surprise, seeing as he was pretty much the only one doing Schlatt’s paperwork- but something seemed even more off- he kept shifting his shoulder, leaning against a wall, clearly trying to look like he was just relaxed but well- something was off. 

“ You okay?” He asked with a small voice, earning an amused snort from the older male. 

“ Me? Dude you got like, fur and shit on you, I should be asking you!”

“ I-” He stammered, looking back to the mirror, a wave of panic overcoming him. “ OH MY GOD ALEX WHAT DO I DO- I CAN’T BE SEEN LIKE THIS, WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO-” 

Quackity jumped at being called by his real name. OK- well, looks like this was serious. “ Wait- lemme think-” He paced around the hyperventilating kid, thinking for a bit- before he sighed. “ Look- we can find a better solution later- for now-”

  
  


He grabbed his beanie, handing it to the kid- who just stared at him, mouth agape- he had  _ never  _ seen Big Q without the hat, it was like- like seeing Schlatt without a suit- 

“ Q-Quackity, are you sure?” 

The Vice President nodded, himself looking uncomfortable to hell. “ I have another one at my base.” 

“ ...okay-” He mumbled softly, slipping the hat over his head, making sure to hide the horns and ears inside of it. 

They stared at each other for a few more seconds in silence, before Quackity opened the door, taking the lead. “ Cmon, we’re going to my base.” He mumbled, pushing past Fundy who stared at the Mexican’s hair in shock. They passed by Schlatt, who was watching some Soap Opera on the TV, beer can in his hand. He’d been drinking a lot more recently- and Tubbo couldn’t help but notice how actively the Vice seemed to avoid being seen by him. 

Lucky for them, they managed to get to Quackity’s old base without much of an issue, Big Q slamming the door closed before anyone could spot them. First thing he did was grab his beanie off Tubbo again, instead handing him an old one. It fit better anyway, and he was too attached to his own to give it up, even for the greater good. Or for Tubbo’s good. 

“ Alright- okay- jesus fucking christ dude-” Quackity laughed nervously, holding his face into his hands. “ Fuck..” Tubbo stayed silent, looking around the base. It looked so much more...well, let’s just say modest compared to the White House they now lived in. He found himself picking up a yellow-ish feather from the carpet, swirling it around in his hands.  _ Where the hell did this come from?  _ He wondered. As far as he knew, Quackity didn’t have parrots. Maybe he dragged it in accidentally? 

His train of thought was interrupted by Quackity getting up promptly, walking around him. “ Does anyone else know?” He asked, staring down at the kid.

“ N-no-Fundy was acting weird yesterday but-”

“-it’s Fundy.” Quackity finished for him, stopping for a second. “ Okay, that’s good- good- wait so,...” His eyebrows furrowed. “ You know the logical conclusion here is that Schlatt is your dad?” 

Tubbo shook his head so fast it felt like it was going to fall off. “ He is not!” He almost screamed, barely containing himself. 

“ Tubbo! Please, don’t lie to yourself, even without the horns you look so much like him! Not to mention how much attention he gives you, how much he listens to you! Hell, he listens to you more than me, and I’m Vic-” He suddenly cut off with an aggressive coughing fit, grabbing his side in pain. 

“ Quackity?!” Tubbo was at his side in a second, gently putting his hand over his shoulder, unable to ignore how he flinched at the touch. “ I’m fine-” He wheezed, forcing himself to stand up straight. “ I’m fine, okay, just uh-” He stumbled over to the bed where he sat down. Now more comfortable he kept talking. 

“ If Schlatt finds out…”

“ He’d want to- to control-” Tubbo refused to finish that sentence. It seemed too real. Too fucking terrifiying. 

“ We have to keep this a secret.” 

Tubbo nodded in agreement, looking up to see himself staring back from the window. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there! thanks for reading another chapter! tbh i dont like this one, its not engaging enough and i didnt have time for my editor to read bc i wanted to get it out fast.... i promise the next one will be better! <3
> 
> once agian, thank you all so much for reading this fic! its been super fun to write and remember to leave comments, feedback and kudos! its all super appreciated! <3


	3. Bread Dough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schlatt seems..angry.

“ So, Tubbo-” Schlatt leaned over the kid’s desk with an ear-to-ear grin, staring into his eyes intensely. “ Where did you and Quackity go this morning?” 

_ Oh. He’d seen them….  _ Tubbo froze, his hand clenching the paper he was holding as he stammered out a tiny. “ H-his base-” 

Schlatt smiled more, and Tubbo felt like he was in a fever dream as he reached out and  _ ruffled his hair-  _ “ Why?”

“ H-he wanted to show me something…” He lied, unsure what else to say- well, apparently not that as it made Schlatt tense up, his nails gripping at Tubbo’s hair, who let out a pained squeak. Schlatt quickly let go, giving him an apologetic look. God, he’d almost ripped off the hat Tubbo was wearing….that would have gone so damn terribly. 

“ Oh yea-” Schlatt turned around again as he was leaving. “ Nice hat.” 

  
  


He walked out, and just minutes later, loud screaming broke out from the corridor. Schlatt sounded pissed off, really fucking pissed off, screaming at his Vice President so loudly that Tubbo was worried the entirety of Manberg would hear. 

“ YOU FUCKING WORTHLESS SCUMBAG, YOU SHOWED HIM!” Schlatt’s voice was so loud that even Tubbo could hear it clearly, staring down at his papers, trying to not think about the fight going down just a few rooms away. 

“ NO!” Quackity sounded scared, his voice much more uncertain than Schlatt. “ I DIDN’T, I DIDN’T I SWEAR-” He cut off with a shrill scream, a loud thud following it.

“ I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO NEVER FUCKING SHOW THOSE TO ANYONE, HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, YOU- YOU- YOU USELESS FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!” 

“ I SAID I DIDN’T SHOW HIM, SCHLATT PLEASE, I SWEAR I-” another thud, this one louder. More screaming, before it was cut off again- Tubbo only slightly heard Quackity whispering something along the lines of “ nonono please don’t, please please, plea-” Then a loud  _ snap  _ followed by a cry so wrenching that Tubbo had to close his eyes, his hand trembling a little. 

A little later, Schlatt walked in again, smiling like nothing had happened. “ Sorry about that…” He smiled at Tubbo brightly, gently patting his shoulder. The boy almost leapt out of his seat at the contact, staring at Schlatt’s hand on his shoulder. Blood encrusted the long, hoove-like fingernails, the scent seeping into Tubbo’s nose as he tried to pretend he was calm. 

“ S-Schlatt? What happened?” He mumbled, shifting so the man let go of him. “ Nothing!” The president grinned just as he had before, wiping his hand on his pant leg. “ I just had to….sort something out.” 

Tubbo turned back to the paperwork, trying to focus enough to stop his hand from shaking so much. After a few seconds, he gave up, silently excusing himself and leaving. He felt his legs move on their own as soon as he was out of the room, sprinting past the corridors- he stopped for a split second in front of a puddle of blood, a wave of nausea overcoming him before he kept running, skidding over the red carpet and finally bursting out the front door- where he stopped, stabilizing himself on his knees as he calmed down- being out of the room calmed him down a bit. 

Getting out of the White House seemed to have calmed him down a bit, as he felt like a weight had been lifted off him, relief washing over him. He quietly fixed the hat on his head, taking a deep breath before he straightened up- to find himself staring directly at Fundy’s beady eyes. 

“ Tubbo?:” The fox sounded confused, stepping back a but. “ You good man?” He gave a nervous smile, his hands in his pocket. Right….probably here for another meeting. “ Y-Yeah I-I’m fine, I’m good-” He stammered, smiling back at Fundy.

“ Alright...well…” Fundy sounded awkward as he moved past him. Into the White House. “ See ya ‘round!” 

Tubbo sighed when the door swung shut, taking a second to think before he headed off, down the street. He passed by Niki’s bakery on the way, deciding to stop by. She’d been in ...a bad mood to say the least, ever since her taxes were raised, and Tubbo really wished he could change it- but Schlatt was too stubborn, and he had no business risking his position as a spy. 

The little bell chime as he entered the door made Niki look up from the tray of bread dough she was kneading, a warm smile plastered on her face.” Tubbo!” She called out softly, walking past the desk and giving him a hug- best she could muster without covering him in dough. 

“ C’mon, sit down-” She invited him, shooing him to one of the chairs where he sat down with a laugh, watching as she went back to working on the dough, The bakery always smelled amazing, and luckily Niki was nice enough to place a plate of pastries in front of him. He reached for a piece of bread quickly, dipping it into a pot of honey before he bit into it. 

“ So, how’s life as a Presidential Right Hand Man?” Niki asked with a tiny laugh, watching him gouge the food. A warm feeling flooded her as she watched- sure, she couldn’t do much against Schlatt’s regime, but at least she knew she could at least make people’s lives a bit better with her creations. The bakery had become more popular recently, with even Antfrost and Purpled coming in. Purpled was well- quiet. He didn’t talk to her, just pointed at what he wanted and silently ate at the corner table. Niki was pretty sure he only ever talked to Ponk. 

Tubbo’s response to her question broke her out of the thoughtrain. “...bad.” He mumbled honestly, looking down at the bread in his hand. 

“ ...oh.” Niki left the flour where it was, moving to the kid. “ Tubbo, what happened?” 

He shook his head. He can’t talk about it. She’d know he was spying. Only trust Tommy.  _ Tommy.  _ He flinched, quickly standing up. He had to talk to Tommy. Now. 

“ Niki I have to go, I just remembered-” he rushed to the door, giving Niki an apologetic look before he left. 

She stared after him, smiling sadly before she went to work again. It felt lonely. 

  
  


Tubbo chased down the street, barely keeping himself from starting to sprint, as he mentally called out to his friend, hoping for a response.

_ Tommy?  _

_ Tubbo?  _

_ Tommy., we need to talk _

_ Now? _

_ Yeah. _

….radio silence. Did he leave? Tubbo was about to give up when another message popped into his mind. 

_ Meet me by the entry.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop! niki showed up :D and boy, schlatt is being....well.
> 
> anyway sorry this is shorter, i just felt motivated to wrtie something. thank you all sm for all the support so far!! i love you all sm, your comments make me so fucking happy man :)   
> next chapter hopefully out soon.


	4. There's Something Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo meets with Tommy. Wilbur's getting worse, and Schlatt is acting more and more strange. And to to it all off, Tubbo makes a mistake not checking if anyone was in the room.

Tubbo pushed past the undergrowth of the forest, using his axe to whack away some of the more stubborn bushes. He finally reached the hill entrance to Pogtopia, where Tommy was already waiting for him, stepping from one foot to the other nervously. When he spotted his friend, he basically flung himself at Tubbo, sending them both stumbling backwards. “ God, I missed you so fucking much…” Tommy muttered, gripping Tubbo’s shirt. After a while, they let go, grinning at each other sheepishly. 

“ So...what’s going on?” 

Tubbo sighed, burying his face into Tommy’s shirt. “ Man, so much….so much happened man I-” 

Tommy put his arm around him in silence. “ Dude, what’s wrong?” He sounded worried, looking at how Tubbo was acting, and for a split second Tubbo considered telling him about the horns- but decided against it. Tommy would tell Wilbur. 

“ I- uh- Schlatt’s been….acting worse.” 

Tommy gave him a bit of a sad smile. “ What did he do now?”

“ UH- he raised Niki’s taxes….because she’s a woman…” He felt ridiculous saying that, hell, the fact that it had happened was in itself ridiculous. 

Tommy snorted, suppressing a laugh- “ Oh- oh god I’m sorry- it’s just- that's  _ such  _ a Schlatt thing to do, it’s actually amazing.” 

Tubbo smiled ever so slightly, unable to keep himself from doing so as Tommy’s laugh tended to be infectious. But then he sobered up again (unlike Schlatt), and continued. “ T-that's not all…” He whispered, suddenly nervous about telling him. He felt like it was a private matter but- if it was for the sake of the revolution…. “ He’s been acting nice to me. Like, overly nice. The guy is a step away from gifting me his life heritance and officially adopting me-” 

He froze. If Schlatt knew….would he even have to adopt Tubbo? Were they biologically related….? Tubbo shuddered at the thought of being Schlatt’s son, the thought of calling him his  _ Dad…. _ He had never known his dad. Well, he had considered Philza a dad of sorts, but it was different. Despite how kind the man had been to him, he had always felt that divide between him and the other sons. Except Tommy. Tommy was the one person he knew he could depend on- so why not now. Why was it that despite how much he wanted to pour out his feelings, admit what happened, tell him everything- the logical part of his brain  _ screamed  _ at him not to. 

It had never really bothered him to not know his dad but now...what if the dictator they were fighting to overthrow was his own kin? 

“ Schlatt? Being nice? Well, that’s good, right?” Tommy asked. 

“ No- it’s weird. It’s not like him.” 

“ No, Tubbo, look- the important thing is that you are safe! And if he’s being nice, it means he isn’t planning to hurt you! He doesn’t know that you’re working for us! Just- stay on his good side, buy into his niceties, pretend you like h-”

“....I think he killed Quackity.” Tubbo blurted out, staring at Tommy with wide blue eyes. There he’d said it, and he wasn’t even sure what made him come to the conclusion. After all, there’d been no sights of a dead body in the corridor, or signs of a respawn. 

“ ...what?” Tommy now looked just as scared. “ He  _ killed  _ him?” This was bad, and Tommy knew it. He wouldn’t have been shocked if they had a fight, the two weren’t always on great terms, especially when Schlatt was under the influence of whatever drugs he was taking- but if Schlatt was going as far as to kill his own Vice President, there was something  _ really fucked  _ about him. 

“ He KILLED HIM?” He repeated, almost screaming. Tubbo nodded quickly, getting up and starting to walk nervously in circles. “ I-I dunno why, he took me to his house to give me something, and when Schlatt found out they had a fight- and - and- and-” He stammered, taking a long breath before he continued. “ And I hear a thud, and then Quackity said something- and I think I heard Schlatt break something and he screamed and then- just silence-” He stopped, dropping to his knees. The day had exhausted the everloving  _ shit  _ out of him, and at this point he wanted nothing more than to just leave this whole mess behind him. To wake up in his bed, no horns, no Schlatt, no election. Live happily with his little family. 

“ Tubbo…” Tommy had been at his side in an instant, pulling him into a hug. “ It’s not because of you, yknow?” Tubbo nodded, but honestly he wasn’t too sure. “ Tommy…?”

“ Yeah?” 

“ W-we’re family, right?” 

“ Of course man- I mean, it doesn’t matter if we didn’t pop out the same woman, I still love you like you’re my brother-”

“ What would you do if- if Philza was evil?”

Tommy froze, giving an awkward chuckle. “ Evil? Phil? Please, as if he could be-” He stopped, remembering the Antarctic Empire. Nevermind. “ /...I don’t know. I guess I’d try to stop him…” 

“ Even though he’s your dad?”

“ Well, yeah. The greater good, you know?” 

“....right….” Tubbo nodded, looking thoughtful. “ T-thanks for seeing me man- how’s Wilbur?” Tommy didn’t respond, instead walking to the entrance. “ Come see for yourself.” His tone made Tubbo feel even more dreadful. 

He entered the small cave, following Tommy down the stairs and into the ravine which they had turned into their new residence. Tubbo quickly spotted Wilbur. He was once again wearing his ragged coat, sitting on a cobblestone blog in the corner. He seemed to be humming something, and Tubbo quickly recognized the melody.  _ My L’Manburg….my L’Manburg….. _ He stared at Wilbur. The man was staring blankly at a wall, not even registering what was going on around him. Every now and then he’d flinch, seemingly in response to something only he was perceiving- and go back to humming. 

“ Oh god..” Tubbo stared at him in shock. “ It’s bad, yeah.” Tommy mumbled, crossing his arms.    
“ It’s better on some days, sure- but- ever since the new flag….everyone betraying us…” He sighed. “ He’s been a ghost of himself.” 

Tubbo nodded solemnly, walking to Wilbur. Still no response. He gently wrapped his arms around the older man, pulling him into a close hug. Wilbur didn;t say anything, still humming- but he did slightly raise his arms to hug Tubbo back. 

“ You should get back, before they start looking for you.” Tommy muttered, watching the two. Tubbo let go of Wilbur, again following Tommy out where they said their goodbyes. 

“ Stay safe, alright?” Tommy asked him, holding him by the shoulder as he was about to leave. “ Yeah, I always do man!” Tubbo grinned brightly. 

“ Promise?” 

“ Yeah. Promise.” 

  
  
  
  


Tubbo arrived back at the White House just as the sun was beginning to set, walking past Ponk and Purpled who seemed deep in conversation- Purpled quickly shut up as Tubbo passed by. He wasn’t sure if it was just him, or if the kid just didn’t talk to anyone. Either way he was too exhausted to care, opening the doors and walking into the entrance hall of the White House. He immediately spotted Eret and Quackity sitting on the lounge sofa. 

Quackity looked pretty bad, clearly just barely staying conscious, and Eret was focused on making him drink a healing potion. 

“ You’re alive!” Tubbo rushed to him, almost knocking over Eret who protested at being pushed aside- Tubbo was just about to hug the VP, but decided against it when the older male flinched at him just running towards him. “ Yeah, what, you think I’m gonna let Schlatt kill me?” He mumbled, smiling confidently, but his voice was strained. Tubbo could see bandages peeking out from underneath his shirt, and- another yellow feather stuck to Quackity’s hair. He reached over, grabbing it and dropping it to the floor, where it got stuck in the crimson carpet. 

“ What happened?” He asked, sitting down on the floor in front of Quackity, while Eret gave him an annoyed glance at the fact that he was disturbing his medical efforts. 

“ Oh, me and Schlatt just had a small argument. He doesn’t- like it when I...uh-” He seemed to be searching for a word for it. “ ….get too close to people.” 

“ Big Q- that was more than a fight he- he almost killed you! I thought he killed you!” 

“ What are you, dense? Of course not!”

“ Well you sounded like a dying horse!”

“ Way to kick me while I’m down man!” 

Tubbo gave it up, shaking his head. At least he was alive. “ What did he do, Quackity?” He asked, doing his best to sound stern. As stern as he could with his child-like voice, that is. 

“ Nothing.” Quackity looked away. 

“ Dude, cmon, that’s a lie-” 

“ I SAID NOTHING!” 

Tubbo flinched at Quackity snapping, and was about to repeat himself, when Quackity suddenly pushed back Eret- this being the second time the King had been rudely interrupted in his handiwork- and stormed off, with “ NOTHING HAPPENED TUBBO, JUST LEAVE M-” He never finished that sentence as a wave of pain made him stop, swaying on his feet, before he dropped against a wall, stabilizing himself like that. Eret was next to him before Tubbo could react, scolding him for trying to run off, and gave Tubbo a look which clearly told him to just leave, and so he did, heading for his room. 

He opened the door, dropping his axe onto the floor, and carefully closing the door before he slid off his hat, turning to stare into the piercing yellow eyes of the goat hybrid. 

“ _Hey there, Tubbo_.” Schlatt grinned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOH BOY THIS ONES ANGSTY- well, more than i intended it to be. im sorry for projecting tho lmao, next chapter will still be pretty serious but ill give yall a break from the angst after that! so there is some happy chapters coming up soon! <3
> 
> Also, thank you all SO SO Much for all the support. All your comments give me so much motivation and make me so fucking happy, so keep being such amazing people!! i hope i wont disappoint you guys <3


	5. He knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schlatt is being too friendly....

Tubbo froze in place, his mind racing with what could happen as Schlatt walked around him slowly, looking him up and down, before he stopped in front of him again. He raised his hands up and reached for Tubbo’s head, making him flinch- for a brief second remembering Quackity screaming just earlier today- but Schlatt didn’t seem to mind, instead focused on looking at the tiny horns on his head. He had a satisfied smirk on his face, prodding and poking at the horns and goat-like ears of the kid, before he looked down into his eyes. 

“ I always knew you were like me.” 

Schlatt said, brushing his hand through the kid’s hair with a weirdly happy face. Tubbo was still frozen.  _ Like him. Like him?  _ He was  _ nothing  _ like the dictator. He’d rather  _ die  _ than be like Schlatt. 

“ Tubbo.” He stared up at the taller Hybrid. “ Yeah?” Schlatt gently guided him to sit down on his bed, his arm still around his shoulder. “ Tubbo, listen to me-” He coughed, and Tubbo wanted to retch at the putrid smell of alcohol coming off him. 

“ By now, you’ve probably figured out-” Schlatt took a dramatic breath. “ You’re my son.” 

Tubbo nodded slowly. “ Y-yeah-” 

“ No one else knows if you’re worried about that-”

“....Quackity does.” He felt himself gasp, clasping his hands over his mouth, shocked at himself for having said that. He didn’t want to get him into trouble. 

“ Wait- is that what he was helping you with at his base?” Strangely, he seemed pretty calm, and Tubbo soon relaxed. 

“ yeah...I needed help hiding it so he gave me a hat….” 

“ Oh...oh god-” Schlatt sighed in relief. “ God, that’s so good to hear- I thought he showed you his fucking stupid w-” He halted, shaking his head. “ Not important-” 

He smiled brightly at his...son. His son. He had family now. “ Tubbo, listen- I knew this day would come. I knew you were just like me, finally your horns grew in! You’re growing up!” If it wasn’t Schlatt, Tubbo would almost have believed that he was genuinely happy about this. But it was Schlatt. He can’t….he can’t possibly actually be moved by this. 

Tubbo nodded silently, unsure what to say. “ Schlatt?” He finally asked in a tiny voice. 

“ What?”

“ Are you gonna hurt me? Like you hurt Qua-” 

“ Oh, that fucking windbag had it coming! Fucking usele-” Schlatt stopped himself before he could say worse, instead opting to refocus his statement. “ Look- no- I would never do that- I just lost my temper with Quackity, I would never hurt you.” Something about his tone in the last words sent a shiver up Tubbo’s spine.  _ Liar.  _

“ Look, uh- I know this is a lot to get used to, so I won’t bother you too long. Do you still wanna hide them though?” Schlatt got up, dangling the green hat between his fingers. 

Tubbo thought for a second, before pulling the hat over his head, fitting it over the ears and horns. “ Just because you know now doesn’t mean the whole country gotta.” He mumbled, avoiding the now pretty upset seeming Schlatt. He supposed Schlatt was hoping for a different answer. 

“ Whatever you want.” The ram said through gritted teeth, almost slamming the door closed behind him. Tubbo stared at it, shocked into silence. What the fuck. He pushed himself into his bed, wishing for everything to just be over. That everything was just a terrible nightmare. He started to sob, overwhelmed by everything that had happened. He cried about what had happened to Quackity, about how sad Nihachu had sounded when he had to leave her, about the horns, about Schlatt, about the fact that he didn’t deserve any of this. He didn’t fucking deserve this, he’d never done anything he thought would be bad to anyone, why the hell was this happening to him of all people? 

The door opened with a creek, and Quackity entered the room, softly closing it behind him. “ Tubbo?” The kid looked up, cheeks stained by tears. “ H-He knows-” He coughed. “ Schlatt knows-” Quackity nodded solemnly, sitting down next to him with a small wince, rubbing his back in circles. 

“ We both knew he’d eventually find out man…” He whispered. “ Just be glad he didn’t get angry at us-” 

“ H-he acted all nice, and friendly, it was fucking weird-” Tubbo inched closer to the VP, hugging onto him, which earned a pained whining from him, but eventually Quackity hugged him back. “ Listen kid, we have to stick together, okay?” 

Tubbo let go, looking at him. “ I- y-yeah. We stick together.”

“ Good. Now cmon, get some sleep.” 

“ Can you stay with me?” he whined, tugging at his shirt. 

“ I wish- but Eret’s waiting, I promised I’d walk him back to his palace.” Quackity got up with a sad smile, brushing Tubbo’s hair from his eyes. “ Sleep, okay? You’ll feel better in the morning.” 

With that he left, leaving Tubbo in the pitch dark, both physically and mentally as the kid closed his eyes, desperate for sleep to overcome him. But it never did. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“ You know you don’t have to put up with him, right?” Eret softly asked Quackity as they walked through the dimly lit streets of the city. “...don’t I?” Quackity looked at him sadly. “ I got myself into this mess when we merged votes, Eret. I got all of you into this mess.” He sighed. “ I have to live with the consequences.” 

“ Quackity, he’s killing you-” 

“ No, he just has a temper-” 

“ Quackity- Sapnap has a temper. What Schlatt has is creeper shit for brains.” The Vice president chuckled at the comment, looking around the city. “ You know, I became Vice to make this place better…” He whispered.    
  


“ I know.” 

“...I feel like a failure.”

“....I know.” Eret knew that feeling too well. Sure he had his palace and his crown, his title- but what else really? He had given away his family, his life, everything that truly had mattered away for a pretty chair and a pile of gold. Pathetic. 

“....do you wanna spend the night? I’m sure Schlatt won’t mind if you’re gone for just a night.” Eret asked as they reached his castle. “ I have a spare room.” 

Quackity hesitated, but then nodded slowly. The pain in his side had become stronger now, and he doubted he’d even make the walk back without passing out, so he happily took his offer. Wouldn’t have to deal with Schlatt either. 

He followed the King into the Pride Palace with a slight smile. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Schlatt was seething. Fuming as he sat at his desk, fingers interlaced. Antfrost had just returned from his scouting mission, to report that Tubbo- his own  _ son-  _ had been spotted talking to the traitor, Tommy. The traitor. Pogtopia, fucking pathetic, why the hell did Tubbo like them so much? HE WAS HIS SON NOT THEIRS! 

He slammed his hand down into his desk, sending some of the scotch in his glass splattering onto the papers, but he couldn’t give less of a shit. His OWN FUCKING SON WAS BETRAYING HIM- Everyone on this god damned land was so useless, why did he ever think running this pissy hole would be any good?  _ Even terrorizing that Slime-something had been more fun.  _ He sighed, grabbing the glass and sipping from it.

Tubbo needed to be taught a lesson. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THREE FUCKING CHAPTERS LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! PLUS ERET INTERACTION BC I WANNA!!   
> LAST ONE TODAY THO BOYS, ITS A BIT SHORT BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD STOPPING POINT!!! PLS LEMME KNOW UR OPINIONS!! 
> 
> Again, I fucking love all your amazing comments and the fact that people enjoy my shitty rushed writing makes it all so fucking worth it. yall are the best!


	6. Ravine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> purpled's in fucking trouble lmao

Tubbo didn’t sleep that night, instead just staring at the ceiling above him blankly. He’d cried himself out, and now just felt exhausted. He wished for sleep, but his mind refused, instead flipping through the happenings of the day. 

Just a few rooms away, Schlatt was already scheming his plan, leaning over a large map of the city, wondering what the perfect moment would be. It would only be appropriate for Tubbo to be punished in front of everyone else- keep them from even  _ thinking  _ about trying to betray him ever again. 

Quackity and Eret were sitting on a bench, looking over Manberg. It was chilly outside, so they had grabbed themselves blankets and vodka- Quackity never liked alcohol too much, but sometimes it was nice to warm up and calm down. Eret held his crown on his lap, glowing white eyes shining underneath the darkened glasses. All was quiet.

  
  
  


The sun began to rise slowly, throwing its rays over Tubbo’s face and lulling him out of the trance he’d been stuck in for the past hours. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, groaning before he forced himself up, even more upset as the cold air hit him. He grabbed his clothing quickly, opting for his beekeeping outfit for the day. It was Sunday- his only day off- so he reckoned he could relax a bit. After all, he felt like he deserved it.

But sadly his plans were foiled the second he stepped into the grand hall, and was greeted by a very happy sounding Schlatt, who immediately pulled his arm around the kid. “ Son!” He laughed, the word making Tubbo flinch. “ Listen- to celebrate-” Schlatt was drunk. Again.

“...to celebrate the- uh- finding out that you’re my kid- and also Manberg of course-” The President slurred, his grin growing wider and wider. “ I want to hold a festival!”

Tubbo forced himself to smile, and not focus on Schlatt’s hoove-nails, covered in grime and digging into his shoulder just a little too harshly. “ That sounds like a great idea…” 

“ I want you to organize the event.” Tubbo froze, giggling nervously. “ Me?”

“ Yeah! You’re loyal, you work hard- I trust you to make this event  _ very _ memorable.” 

Tubbo searched Schlatt’s eyes for a hint of what he was up to, and after not being able to read him, just silently nodded.

“ Okay?” 

  
“ Yes Mr President.” 

“ Call me Dad.” 

Like hell he would.

Luckily, Schlatt soon left, distracted by something else. Tubbo sighed, walking into the kitchen where he began to put together a sandwich, putting it into his bag and leaving the house. 

He headed outside, hoping to maybe invite Punz to the hives again, but for the second time the day his plan was interrupted, this time by a  _ very  _ panicked Ponk running up to him. Drenched in sweat- he’d clearly been running, the exhaustion clear on his face. 

“ Ponk?” Tubbo looked concerned as the older man struggled to catch his breath. The second he did, Ponk wheezed out; “ T-Tubbo you gotta help me man-” 

“ What’s wrong?” Tubbo offered him his shoulder to lean against. Ponk coughed, before straightening up again, finally able to breathe again. 

“ I-It’s Purpled man- he’s got trouble, I- we-” 

“ What happened to him? Is he hurt?” 

“ I dunno- listen man, we were in a cave, he wanted my help finding a stronghold- and there was a collapse, we lost each other- I can’t find him dude, I’ve looked all night!” 

Tubbo sighed, mentally preparing for this. He honestly wished he could just turn and leave, but he wasn’t coldhearted enough to leave. Besides, he’d be like Schlatt if he did that, wouldn’t he?

“ Let me grab my gear…” He sighed, turning back to go get his things. “ Send me the cords, I’ll meet you there.” 

  
  
  


The cave he had mentioned was  _ concerningly  _ close to Pogtopia- and Tubbo wouldn’t help but break into a cold sweat at the thought of them accidentally mining into the base. Still he followed Ponk as the man lead them through tunnels- sometimes so narrow they had to crouch down and inch through it- it was a difficult cave to navigate, and Tubbo was in all honesty in awe at the fact that Ponk seemed to be confident in what he was doing. Coming out the other end of the tunnel, Tubbo shook himself to get rid of at least some of the grime and murky water clinging onto his leather armor. 

Ponk halted in front of a collapsed part of the ravine- “ It was here-” He mumbled staring around. Tubbo stared at the wreckage, and soon enough realized that some of the rocks had scratch marks on them, many of them seemingly pulled around- probably had been Ponk trying to reach his friend, thinking he was stuck under the debris. Tubbo sucked in a breath, kneeling down in front of it and calling out; “ Purpled? Purpled, are you in there man, cmon answer me!” Nothing. “ Purpled, please!” 

Nothing. Fuck. Was he dead? Or unconscious? Ponk had already begun digging again, ignoring the dust rising around them. “ STOP!” Tubbo yelled, pulling his arm away. “ You might get hurt! Or hurt Purpled!” The masked man stopped, burying his face into his hands. “ Its my fault, its all my fault, he’s just a kid, he shouldn’t have been here-” 

Tubbo was just about to respond to him when he heard a tiny whine. He stopped, hushing Ponk quickly. “ Hey?” He called out.

“  _ Here!”  _ The voice was quiet, barely audible, but clear. Purpled. 

“ PURPLED, WHERE ARE YOU-” Ponk stared around. The voice was coming from the other side of the ravine, so he hurried there. 

“ DOWN HERE GUYS- HELP-” He stared down the edge of the ravine, horror overcoming him when he spotted Purpled. The kid was covered in so much dirt he was barely visible against the dark stone walls, hanging off a vine. 

“ Purpled! Hang on buddy, I’ll have you out of there in a second!” Ponk yelled down, grabbing a dirt stack from his inventory, and beginning to make a round staircase down. 

He tied a second rope around Purpled, tossing it up to Tubbo, who tied it around a large boulder. Ponk quickly scrambled up again, helping Tubbo grab the rope and slowly, inch by inch pull up the kid. The second he was up, they stumbled back from the rope, Tubbo’s hands burning from the friction. He watched in silence as Ponk rushed over to embrace his friend in a hug, apologizing profusely while the other whispered his responses. 

Ponk slung his arm around one side of Purpled, with Tubbo taking the other, and somehow- with a lot of pain and effort, they managed to crawl out of the hole. Outside Tubbo shielded his eyes from the blinding sun, smiling as the other two friends looked at each other happily. Purpled was, luckily uninjured. Apparently he’d gotten out of the debris but been knocked down by a passing skeleton. 

Ponk helped the kid get onto his horse, before hopping on behind him. He looked at Tubbo, the question in his face clear; 

“ I- uh. I’m gonna stay a bit. Take a walk…” Tubb muttered. While he was here, he could as well go talk to Pogtopia. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EYYYYYYYY NEW DAY NEW CHAPTER, FEAT UNDERRATED PPL!!!! 
> 
> remember leave comments and kudos and shit!! love u all sm!


	7. tubbo with no brim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planning the festival goes awry- Niki finds out.

The rest of the evening was spent together with Quackity, leaning over their desks full of paper, trying to figure out how to organize this damn festival. Tubbo wished Schlatt had given some sort of guidance, not just thrown all the work onto him like he usually did. 

“ ...maybe we should- redecorate the area..” Quackity suggested with a mumble. “ People are still tense about Wilbur and Tommy’s exile, we should make it look different so they don’t- associate the event with that…” Tubbo nodded tiredly, noting it down onto their chartboard. The paper was filled with ideas they had, entertainment, decoration, food and other. Anything they thought of really, but in all honesty the page was covered in mostly Quackity’s doodles rather than Tubbo’s actual notes. He sighed, looking at the list again, but halfway distracted by his own thoughts. He was hoping to meet with Wilbur and Tommy in the next few days before the event, to tell them what was happening. They would probably want to watch after all. 

“ Sooo….how's my  _ favourite  _ right hand man coming along?” Schlatt peeked through the doorway, before entering the room holding a cup of coffee. “ Thought you might need some energy.” He explained, setting it down in front og Tubbo. He couldn’t help but make note of how it was only one cup. Schlatt stared at the board briefly, before smiling. “ Oh, and Tubbo, remember you gotta include your speech in the schedule!” He chirped, happily slinging an arm around Tubbo. “ I am so proud of you!” 

He pulled Quackity to them as well, the Vice President letting out a pained yelp as his injured side got pressed against Schlatt. “ And you! I owe you an apology!” Schlatt rambled on. “ You were just helping out my kid, and I went haywire!” Well, that’s to say the least, isn’t it? Quackity nodded in silence, hoping his knees would keep him standing upright.  _ Pain pain pain pain-  _ Finally the two were freed from Schlatt’s grip as he strolled out again, happily humming a song. 

“ Quackity?” Tubbo looked over to his friend- when the hell had Quackity gone from ‘coworker’ to friend- as the VP leaned against the desk, whimpering in pain a little. Tubbo reached out to grab his arm, but was quickly deterred from the idea as a metallic smell hit him. Blood. 

“ Oh my god-” He moved around the desk so he could see better. Quackity was mumbling something that sounded spanish under his breath, ignoring the blood leaking from his nose onto his shirt. Schlatt had been a little too aggressive with how he acted, and apparently had reopened the wound. “ Quackity, sit down-” Tubbo grabbed his hands, trying to get him to sit, but Quackity pulled away from him quickly, stumbling to the door in a haze. “ I-no- I’ll go clean up- you uh, stay here and finish the plans- more important…” with that he left. 

Tubbo was tired. He was pissed off, sad, tired and honestly wanted to go slap Schlatt across the face and wipe that grin off his goat-like face. But instead he rushed after Quackity, who at this point was leaving a trail of blood after him. “ BIG Q!” He yelled, rushing over him and grabbing his arm. “ Dude, lemme go! You have work to do!” He coughed again, struggling to keep walking. 

“ Alex you stop right fucking now!” Tubbo demanded, trying to sound serious, but he was just ignored as the older man stumbled into his bedroom, the door closing behind him with a click. 

Why did no one ever listen to him? Tubbo just wanted to fucking help. That’s all he ever wanted to do, he just wanted his friends to be happy and safe, and for everything to go back to how it was before- he slammed his fist against a wall, letting out a scream he hadn’t known he was holding in. The hat had slipped off in the process, and as he stared up he saw himself in his reflection. But instead of his own face staring back, it seemed altered. The horns, the fur growing around his ears, the yellow eyes-  _ yellow eyes? _ He felt his heart begin to race- he had BLUE eyes- blue, Tommy always talked about it, they were BLUE- He spun around, breaking into a sprint, almost crashing into Schlatt on the way out. He felt like he’d been running through these corridors a lot recently. 

  
  


He wasn’t sure how, but he ended up in Niki’s bakery, walking in with his head low. The woman looked up, smiling at him happily. She had just finished packing up, and was waiting for a last batch of bread to finish so she could pack up. “ So you’re back!” She quickly pulled him into a hug, ruffling his hair- and suddenly halted when she accidentally touched one of his horns- Tubbo immediately pulled back, staring at her fearfully. 

“ N-Niki, I can explain, I swear-”

“ Y-you- Schlatt- Tubbo, you-”

“ Niki, please let me explain!” Tubbo begged, grabbing her arms gently. 

Niki stared at his hands for a few seconds, before redirecting her gaze to Tubbo. 

“....alright.” 

  
  
  
  


“ So...where do I start?” They were sitting in Niki’s personal room at the back of the bakery, both of them on a small blue couch. Tubbo had his legs criss crossed, nervously tapping his finger against his knee. 

“ When?”

He looked up. “...like a week ago, or less. Just a few days really- they appeared so suddenly, like I had a headache one night and the next morning they were there!”

“ You still get headaches?” She asked softly- despite how much she was tempted to let her bias against Schlatt guide her view on Tubbo, she couldn’t let that happen. 

“...sometimes- especially with what’s been happening… Schlatt’s been acting so weird- he keeps calling me his son, and now wants to host a festival and me to organize it-” He sighed, leaning backwards.The next words out of his mouth seemed to be said without his own control over himself. 

“....I want Wilbur back.” 

He froze, waiting for her response with closed eyes. 

“ So do I.” She admitted quietly. “ I miss him a lot, Tubbo.” She gave him a sad smile, her eyes watering. “ I miss him so much, everyday. Tommy as well. It’s not the same without them…” 

Tubbo moved closer to her, hugging her. “ I want them back Niki-” She nodded, gently brushing his hair, and touching his horns in a curiosity. “...you know these don’t define you, right? We all still love you…” 

Tubbo nodded, closing his eyes.

“ Can I sleep here tonight? Please?” 

“ Mhm…” 

He finally fell asleep, for the first time in days. 

  
  


Neither of them noticed the shadowy figure at the window turn to leave, a sly grin on their face as they went to report to their president once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, oh my god- Niki knows now!  
> also ohh boy maybe dont talk about wanting the traitors back in a surveillance state niki and tubbo ,,, yikes 
> 
> anyway, thanks sm for all the amazing comments on the last chapters!! this is so motivating, yall are the absolute best. keep leaving them pls, ahhaha im lonely and yall make me so happy!! 
> 
> also shoutout to the people whove been commenting on like, every single chapter!! i remember yall and just wanted to give you an extra bit of appreciation! <3


	8. planning, feathers and bathroom breakdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More festival planning, more Schlatt acting weird...and more sad shit? 
> 
> // tw: slight gore + sh (ithink?)

“ Where were you?” Schlatt gave him a cold stare when Tubbo entered the White House the next morning, this time with another new hat. “ ...I slept at Niki’s…” He mumbled, moving past the goat man. Lately he’d gotten less scared- hell, maybe he’d even begun to trust the goat. He had changed quite a bit in how he treated the kid, and sometimes Tubbo felt like his niceties were genuine. 

“...right.” Came the curt reply as Schlatt joined him again, walking behind him. “ How’s the festival going?”

“ Pretty good actually- we have a schedule and events set up, and I’ve been meaning to tell Ponk and a few others to help set up the entertainment and decoration-” He muttered. “ Your speech is the last one- so you get the final say, you know?” 

Schlatt nodded, before he patted Tubbo’s shoulder. “ Make sure Technoblade is on that guest list.” He said with a smile, a glint of fury in his eyes before he turned to leave Tubbo standing in the hallway. 

He sighed, walking into the kitchen to get some coffee- he already ate at Niki’s so he might as well, he supposed. Pouring plenty of milk and sugar into the liquid, he leaned against the counter to drink it. 

He tossed the cup into the sink once he was gone, grabbing his bag on the way out- a lot was planned for the day, Just four days left to the festival. 

  
  


The first place he headed to was the Pizza Place where he knew Purpled and Ponk often hung out. He climbed onto the roof, and luckily he’d been right- the two were sitting on top of the sign, eating a pizza. “ Ponk!” Tubbo called up to him, climbing up next to them. “ Hey, listen can I get your help on something?” 

“ Course…?” The man nodded, Purpled also giving a tiny smile. 

“ I need you to lead the setting up for the festival-’ Tubbo grabbed a folder from his bag. “ These are the plans, and uh- building materials in the underground storage. Or ask Fundy.” He wasn’t sure if shoving the responsibility onto the fox was a good idea, but whatever. Ponk nodded, grabbing the papers. 

Tubbo began climbing down again, and was about to take the stairs down from the roof, when someone placing their hand on his shoulder made him halt. He turned around to face Purpled. The kid gave him a tiny smile, before shoving something into his hand. 

“...thanks-” He mumbled, his voice still very quiet. “ - for helping me, back in the ravine I mean.” 

Tubbo gave him a bright grin, nodding quickly. “ Of course, I couldn’t just leave you hanging there!” He mumbled. “ Anyone would’ve done the same!”

“....Schlatt wouldn’t.” 

With that Grayson left, scampering up the sign at a ridiculous speed. Tubbo was left standing in silence for a while, before he walked down the stairs, opening his palm. Purpled had handed him a silver pendant, the metal craftily swirled around a tiny piece of diamond. He smiled, realizing it was probably the first time Purpled had spoken to him. 

  
  
  
  


Punz and Sapnap were both standing over the grave of Spunz, Punz silently looking at the array of wildflowers he’d placed around it. Sapnap had a sorrowful look in his eyes, gently patting his friend on the side in an awkward attempt at consolidating him. The bee would have turned two today. 

Tubbo gave them a few more moments before walking over to them. “ Guys-” He smiled a bit, and Punz grinned back despite it being a shitty day for him. 

“ Yeah?”

“ You know about the festival soon, right? I need you two to guard it. Make sure nothing goes wrong!” Tubbo gave them a happy smile. “ Drinks and food will be free for you, and if anything happens medical aide will also be there for you two!” 

Punz shot Sapnap a look, who nodded in agreement. “ Eh, why not.” The black-haired man murmured, already mentally noting down that he had to get new armor. Maybe he’d ask George to come get Netherite with him, but the goggle-bastard had recently been too self-obsessed to even realize what was going on around him. 

  
  
  
  


The final destination on Tubbo’s mind was the Pogtopian ravine. He got off his horse as they got closer, tying it to a tree and opting to walk the last few meters. As soon as he entered the cave, he took off the hood over his head, greeting Tommy with a quick hug. 

“ Listen, we need to talk. Can you get WIlbur?” 

  
  
  


That evening the three main members of the cabinet sat down together to eat, for once not opting to avoid each other all day. Schlatt spent the first five minutes on a painfully long toast, sitting down as the other two cheered, and were  _ finally  _ able to eat. For once no fights broke out, and even Schlatt cut back on the drinking for a night. 

“ Hey you guys wanna watch something together?” Quackity offered, getting up to take his plate to the kitchen.

Schlatt looked over to him. “ Like?”

“ I dunno, maybe a horror film? Hereditary or something…” 

The president shrugged. “ Don’t see why not.” 

Minutes after they were sitting in front of the TV, watching the movie, with Quackity sitting cross legged on the Ottoman, and Schlatt and Tubbo together on the couch. Whenever a loud moment or loud noise came up, Tubbo would instinctively grab onto Schlatt, who’d give him a really strange look. Almost like regret. But he wasn;t sure what the hell he looked so sad for. Tubbo was pretty sure Schlatt had never hurt him, and surely wasn’t going to! After all, he was his son! Schlatt had looked so excited when he found out…. 

Just as the ceiling scene began, Quackity got up, silently leaving the room, and Tubbo stared after him for a while before deciding to not follow. He just wanted to enjoy the evening for once, it had been such a good day so far and he didn’t want that ruined. The movie ended after a while, and Tubbo got up, wanting to go to sleep as it was late. 

Schlatt got up too, smiling as he pulled him into a tight hug. “ Tubbo- I love you, okay?” He mumbled. Tubbo froze. Was he crying? Awkwardly he nodded, slinging his arms around the hybrid. This was...new. To say the least. “...love you too.” He muttered, though he wasn’t sure if it was true. 

“ Goodnight, okay?” Schlatt let him go, wiping at his eyes. “ Just- sleep well. Festival’s going to be soon, I want you to be well rested. Oh- and” He started to leave, going up the stairs to his suite. “ Take the next three days off. You deserve it.” 

  
  


Tubbo nodded, still shaking a little from what had just happened. Schlatt wasn’t drunk, so it can’t have been that...what was that even about? He’d never seen the ram  _ cry  _ before. In trance, he blindly walked through the hallway, and without even noticing, opened Quackity’s door, thinking it was his. 

He froze, staring at the Vice President just as he turned around from the mirror. 

  
  
  


It was probably the first time he’d seen the man without his suit, and suddenly he understood why he’d been like that recently. The limp, the exhaustion, the pain- he wanted to throw up just looking at it. Quackity had wings sticking out from under his shoulder blades. Tubbo had seen wings before, on Phil- but these were different. Not just the golden yellow color, or the fact that they were clearly misized for the VP. But the blood, trickling down the feathers, which were mostly broken or in disarray. Some parts of the wings had entire gashes on them, and Tubbo noticed one was bent in such an awkward position that it couldn’t be normal. 

In an instant, Tubbo remembered the snap noise he’d heard when he was fighting with Schlatt, starting to shake. “ Q-Quackity-” He began, stepping closer to the VP who now looked scared to hell. “ You need to leave!” He told him, stepping away. “ You need to go, you can’t see this man, Schlatt will fucking kill me- just leave-” 

“ Please let me help you! That-”

“ Leave!”

“ Quackity, you’re  _ hurt- _ ”

“ No shit, dumbass. I’ll be fine, just go!” 

Tubbo stared at him. He clearly wasn’t going to budge. “ Can I at least get Eret?” 

He was pretty sure Eret knew about the wings- after all he’d helped Quackity before. He left, closing the door behind him. He quickly wrote a message to Eret as he walked down the hallway, suddenly determined to do something. He entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind him with a bang, and turned to the mirror, ripping the hat from his head.

The horns. The fucking horns were th reason for all of this. He wanted them gone. Off. Now. He grabbed one, shaking his hand, but to no avail. Not much of a surprise either. He thought as he looked around for something to remove them with, finally instead opting for just ramming his head at a wall, leaving dust and debris crumbling from the Quartz covered walls. 

It seemed like almost an hour had passed when he stopped, tears streaming down his face and him feeling dizzy. He collapsed to his knees, too weak to stay upright anymore. The horns were still there, and he only felt more terrible after doing that. Was this some sort of curse he had? He wanted to run. Run out of the White House. Get Tommy. Run away. Far away, live somewhere else and be  _ happy  _ for once- but Schlatt would find him. Tubbo knew he would, and that’s where he realized it. Overthrowing Schlatt wouldn’t be enough. It would never be enough. 

  
  


_ Schlatt has to die.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whow yeh uh i was gonna make this more lighthearted but i needed that moment in there so it sets up for the festival. good job to the people who already guessed about the wings u were right!! i actually want my next series to be focused on them, i already started planning it!!
> 
> one chapter left, and thank you all so so fucking much for all the support so far. keep being yourselves, and i hope i see yall on my next story once im done with this one :)


	9. fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the festival. you already know.

An hour until the festival begins. 

Tubbo nervously adjusted his tie in front of the hallway mirror. His hands felt clammy, although he’d basically memorized the entire speech by now he couldn’t help but fret about something going wrong. 

Outside he could see a crowd gathered already, Ponk and Purpled fixing the last few entertainment stations. Punz and Sapnap, both fully clad in armor, were watching everyone with a keen eye, clearly taking themselves just a tad too seriously. Tubbo waved at them, before turning to get a thumbs-up on his suit from the VP. 

  
  
  


“ Stay safe, okay?” Tommy asked, firmly pressing Tubbo’s shoulder. The other kid laughed lightly, nodding. 

“ Of course!” 

  
  
  


40 minutes left until the festival. 

  
  


Schlatt was acting nice. Too nice even. Hell the guy was practically chasing after Tubbo with offerings and compliments all day, calling him the best working member of the cabinet, his son, the only thing that mattered in the world. Tubbo would just awkwardly nod to the statements, taking it as better to not question him too much. Schlatt for once wasn’t drunk- apparently this event was enough of a festivity for him to lay off the scotch for a night. 

  
  


30 Minutes until the festival. 

Tubbo was standing in front of the mirror, wondering what he should do about the horns. Part of him wanted to let the cat out of the bag- everyone would find out eventually, right? He sighed, brushing his hair from his eyes and putting the hat back on. Maybe some other time. 

20 Minutes left until the festival. 

Tubbo grabbed onto his hair with a mumble of annoyance. He was nervous about the festival of course- speaking in front of so many people. A cup of tea was set down in front of him as Quackity joined him on the couch. He didn’t look any better. If anything he looked worse. Tubbo gave him a tired smile, grabbing the drink. 

“ You know you’ll do great right?” 

Tubbo looked at him. “...I’m worried I forget what to say.” 

“ Then just say whatever comes to mind. It’s a festival, not a business meeting.” Quackity got up again, he also had things to do after all. “ The one night we can have fun- so take advantage. Cut loose. Chillax man.” 

  
  


10 Minutes until the festival. 

Tubbo reached for the mic on the stage, tapping it to check if it was on. Everyone in the benches looked over to him, and he mumbled a quick. “ Sorry- sorry everyone, just testing!” Before scampering out of eyesight. In the back, Schlatt was getting ready with the help of Alyssa, and Fundy seemed to be trying to convince him to be able to stand on the stage. Callahan was messing about with the lighting, with Antfrost next to him giving suggestions. 

5 Minutes until the festival 

Schlatt seemed to have gone a little overboard with excitement, firing off shots into the crowd at random, making some of the citizens yell in outrage while Tubbo tried to calm them down, without pissing Schlatt off- a tough job indeed. He froze when he heard an arrow hit it’s mark and a message ring through the podium and Fundy fall over. For a second worried for the hybrid, but the red-head soon showed up again, still smiling good naturedly, though it looked a little strained to Tubbo. 

  
  


The festival began. 

  
  


With regal music in the background, Schlatt strode up to the podium for his own little speech before handing the mic over. He tapped it, clearing his throat and began just as the last murmurs in the audience died down. 

Tubbo left after a while, just as Schlatt was talking about a new Era and the improvements they had made, to go talk to Tommy and WIlbur for the last time before his speech. Wilbur had for some reason insisted he say a certain phrase, and he wasn’t sure why, but if it would help, why not. 

“ Schlatt won’t give up if we just kill him. We should blow it all up.” Tubbo stared at Wilbur with wide eyes, nodding a tiny bit. Hopefully Tommy would stop.

  
  


His speech. 

Tubbo stared nervously down at the crowd, grabbing the microphone with sweaty palms. He slowly opened his mouth to begin. 

“ Hel-”  _ Screeee- _ The mic apparently wanted to refuse to cooperate, for a while. Whilst Antfrist was fixing it in the back, Fundy seemingly decided to start an argument- with himself, mind you- about wanting to be on stage. Schlatt’s little bootlicker, as always. 

“ Do  _ not  _ say any state secrets.” Schlatt warned him from the side, and Tubbo quickly nodded before he began. 

  
  


Yellow concrete was placed next to him. 

“ Schlatt what are you doin-” Tubbo asked nervously, trying to hop the fence over to the other side as he was slowly surrounded by the dusty material. 

“ See this is why I asked for a bucket…” Schlatt mumbled, ignoring Tubbo’s questions. 

“ Wh-what are you-” Niki’s voice was just as confused. “ Schlatt let him out-” 

“ I know what you’ve been up to.” Schlatt gave him a cold stare. 

“ W-what have I been up to?” Tubbo was getting more and more nervous as the walls felt like they were closing up on him. 

“ YOU’VE BEEN CONSPIRING!” Schlatt screamed, hitting the concrete with his fist, some of the yellow dust raining down on the kid. “ With the idiots! With the- the traitors!”

“ It all adds up!” He continued. “ The fucking tunnels, your absence, you missing important events- hell you left half way through this one!” 

“Uh-” 

“ DON;T TRY TO TELL ME YOU DONE NOTHING WRONG- BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS IT. I SEE IT WITH MY OWN TWO FUCKING EYES-what you been doing.” 

Schlatt took a breath before looking into Tubbo’s eyes again. Not a hint of compassion for his son in them. “ Do you know what happens to traitors Tubbo?” 

Tubbo shook his head. 

“ Hey, Technoblade, wanna come up here for a second?” 

The pig-hybrid stared at Schlatt in surprise. “ Uh- uh-” he shrugged eventually, climbing the waterfall to join the other three on stage. 

“ Let’s just...send a message real quick.” Schlatt said as Quackity made a tiny pathway for the Blood God to stand on. 

Tubbo spotted Tommy on the roof opposite of the podium, trying to signal him with his hands.  _ Help. Please, help me- _

“ Wait, what’s goin on here?” Techno sounded just as confused as Tubbo. 

“ Technoblade, if you would be so kind- take care of him.” 

Tubbo froze staring into the pink-haired warrior’s eyes in fear as he looked back, more confused than anything. 

“ Listen man, I only call you in for special favours. I mean we go way back, right?” Schlatt smiled at the still clueless Technoblade. “ I-uh, I need you to take him out.” 

“ Like for dinner?” 

_ Help?  _ Tubbo messaged Wilbur, staring up at the man on the roof. 

“ Schlatt, what are you actually talking about?” Quackity chimed in as well. 

“ I need a special favor.” Schlatt kept staring at Technoblade. 

_ Technoblade is on our side.  _

_ Okay, thank god. _

Tubbo sighed in relief, relaxing a tiny bit. 

“ I need you, to take him  _ out. _ ” Schlatt repeated himself this time loud enough for others to hear. 

Techno mumbled something about dinner again, and Schlatt apparently had enough. “ No! You arent gonna take him out for dinner, you’re gonna kill him!” he sighed, earning cries of anger and outrage- mostly from Niki and Eret in the audience. 

“ What??” Quackity stared at his partner-in-presidency. “ B-but we have him in jail-” 

  
  


“ RIGHT NOW, ON THIS FUCKING STAGE-” Schlatt yelled. “ AND MAKE IT HURT!”

  
“ Techno, don’t listen to him!” Niki cried out, barely being held back by Eret. 

“ My right hand man! My son!!” Schlatt screamed, staring at the child with pure fury in his face. “ I’d rather rule alone than with you.” 

“ Schlatt- are you sure- I mean, we have him trapped, he’s jailed-” Quackity stepped towards the president, nervously staring at the crowd. 

“ It’s not enough.” 

“ Techno-” Tubbo stared at the man as he loaded a firework onto his crossbow. No. No- 

_ Wilbur?!?!?!?!?!?!  _ He messaged Wilbur, just in time to feel a sharp pain on his side as Techno swung his sword at him. Techno stabbed him. Tubbo let out a cry, toppling over. 

“ Wh- I can’t-” Tubbo tried to get out again, but was interrupted by Techno. 

“ Tubbo- Tubbo I’m sorry-” The Blood God mumbled, pointing the firearm at Tubbo. “ I’ll make it as painless and colorful as possible.” 

The firework went off, firing right into Tubbo’s chest, as he let out a pained scream, falling backwards.

His ears were ringing as he tried to make out noise. Niki yelling- was that Tommy? He stared at the blonde figure screaming his name through the gitter holding him trapped. Tommy…. He tried to lift himself, collapsing again. Warm blood drenched the front of his shirt, making his hands slippery as he tried to hold himself up. He was pretty sure he could see two more dead bodies on the stage, and Techno still firing rockets. He focused his eyes back on Tommy, who was still desperately trying to get through the fence. 

He closed his eyes. 

_ “Tubbo!”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well boys. last chapter of this fanfic! i plan to write a continuation, but before i do that i actually wanna write a bit of a Big Q centric story. :0) chances are by the time you read this I already have that posted so go check it out! <3
> 
> also, i had a small idea for a story- still involving mcyters, but disjointed from the SMP- like a plot i personally made up. idk why i feel like writing it tho, so maybe i will? pls lemme know if i should hehe 
> 
> and ofc, as always, comments are so so fucking appreciated. special thanks to the people who's been commenting and reading my shit consistently, i love you sm. thank you for sticking with this story and i hope to see yall again on my upcoming writing :)


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